AP Photos: Americans honor troops for Memorial Day

Marine Staff Sgt. Travis Hassell, center, and his son Issac show off Francis Slate's, left, Honorable Discharge Card from the U.S. Army Dec. 3, 1945, as they wait for President Barack Obama to deliver his Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Boy Scouts carry a large American flag through the Memphis National Cemetery in Tennessee, where scouts also placed flags on 42,000 graves. At Dover Air Force Base, the remains of fallen soldiers are returned to their families. In Afghanistan, the top U.S. commander reads a 23-year-old's letter to his family that he had prepared to be read in the event of his death.

"Today we remember his life and his words, for they speak resoundingly and timelessly for our fallen brothers and sisters in arms," said Marine Gen. John Allen, who also leads the NATO coalition in Afghanistan.

Across the world this weekend, Americans are honoring the fallen, veterans and military personnel in ceremonies and private remembrances.